ny32182
Member
I've been loading .223 in small quantity (single stage) for years.
Some questions for those who load .223 in mid to high competition-level volume (say 10k rounds a year or greater):
1) How did you determine that it is economically worthwhile? Looks like current retail for brass cased PMC is about .30 a pop, and my loading cost seems to be about .20 a pop for similar load. I don't know what the brass goes for these days, but is it anywhere near .10? Given how much more of PITA rifle loading is than handgun, I would just like to hear your reasoning in the cost analysis. I'd have to invest in a nice trimmer of some kind and presumably a bit more Dillon gear as well.
2) What is your process?
I have a Dillon 650. I was talking to a 3-gunner about his process recently, and he has a Dillon trimmer. He said runs the following:
-First pass through the press he sizes and trims
-Swage primer pockets off the press if needed
-Second pass through the Dillon, load.
Expanding this to a bit more detail and accounting for things I like to do, I'm thinking about the following:
-Tumble brass
-Lube
-First pass on the Dillon: Size, and trim with press mounted Dillon trimmer. Manual case feed.
-Tumble to remove lube
-Swage primer pocket with Super swager
-Second pass through the press: load the ammo, use the casefeeder.
Currently all I'm loading on the 650 is 9mm. I believe I'd have to buy the following to run this process:
-Two new toolheads
-New powder die/measure/etc for easy swapping from 9mm
-.223 conversion kit
-Small rifle plate for the casefeeder
-Dillon trimmer
-Maybe a Dillion carbide .223 die if it makes sizing a lot easier
Is there anything I'm overlooking in the process or shopping list? Input from high volume .223 loaders would be appreciated. I don't think I'm going to do truly high volume for .223, but I do for 9mm, and would like to leave the press set up for that the vast majority of the time, which means I would like to do .223 in contiguous short runs of a couple thousand rounds at a time if I determine it is worth it. That way I would only need to switch the press over to .223 once every few months or so.
Some questions for those who load .223 in mid to high competition-level volume (say 10k rounds a year or greater):
1) How did you determine that it is economically worthwhile? Looks like current retail for brass cased PMC is about .30 a pop, and my loading cost seems to be about .20 a pop for similar load. I don't know what the brass goes for these days, but is it anywhere near .10? Given how much more of PITA rifle loading is than handgun, I would just like to hear your reasoning in the cost analysis. I'd have to invest in a nice trimmer of some kind and presumably a bit more Dillon gear as well.
2) What is your process?
I have a Dillon 650. I was talking to a 3-gunner about his process recently, and he has a Dillon trimmer. He said runs the following:
-First pass through the press he sizes and trims
-Swage primer pockets off the press if needed
-Second pass through the Dillon, load.
Expanding this to a bit more detail and accounting for things I like to do, I'm thinking about the following:
-Tumble brass
-Lube
-First pass on the Dillon: Size, and trim with press mounted Dillon trimmer. Manual case feed.
-Tumble to remove lube
-Swage primer pocket with Super swager
-Second pass through the press: load the ammo, use the casefeeder.
Currently all I'm loading on the 650 is 9mm. I believe I'd have to buy the following to run this process:
-Two new toolheads
-New powder die/measure/etc for easy swapping from 9mm
-.223 conversion kit
-Small rifle plate for the casefeeder
-Dillon trimmer
-Maybe a Dillion carbide .223 die if it makes sizing a lot easier
Is there anything I'm overlooking in the process or shopping list? Input from high volume .223 loaders would be appreciated. I don't think I'm going to do truly high volume for .223, but I do for 9mm, and would like to leave the press set up for that the vast majority of the time, which means I would like to do .223 in contiguous short runs of a couple thousand rounds at a time if I determine it is worth it. That way I would only need to switch the press over to .223 once every few months or so.